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Bulletin No. 55 September 25, 1922. 
M. M. LEIGHTON 


2 ) 
39.65 /9: COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA 
Gyr $5 


DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS 
James F, Woodward, Secretary 


BUREAU OF TOPOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
George H. Ashley, State Geologist 


et 


COAL BEDS IN LAWRENCE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANT.. 
By 
Devoe naLroLer 


Introduction. 


Although Lawrence County contains thirteen coal beds that are 
locally workable, their areas are small, and their quality is so 
variable that the county does not figure as an important coal pro- 
ducer. In 1918 the production was 107,086’tons, valued at $287,302. 
Of this amount 93,253 tons, valued at $252,561 were loaded at the 
mines for shipment; 1,882 tons were sold'to local trade and used by 
employees; 11,951 tons were used at the mines for steam and heat. 
None of the coal was coked at the mines. 


lawrence County is on the west boundary of the State between 
Merecr and Beaver counties... The county's greatest width from north 
to scuth is 20 miles; from east to west is 23 miles. Its area is 
570 square miles. Its population in 1920 was 85,545. 


Lawrence. County. has good railroad facilities... The Pennsylvania 
Railroad follows the valley of Beaver River to Lawrence Junction, 
where one branch gces northwest to Youngstown, Ohio, ane the other to 
New Castle, Sharon, and north. another branch runs northeast from 
New Castle along the valley -of Neshannock Creek to the northern edge 
of the county. The Pittsburgh and Lake Eric and the Baltimore and 
Ohio railroads follow Beaver Valley across the county; the Erie 
Railroad-runs from Sharon to New Castle. The Western Allegheny’ 
Railroad, entering the eastern side of the county at Grant City, 
extends west to Beaver River below New Castle Boro. The New Castle 
and Butler Railroad has several short branches northcast from New 
‘Castle. 


Lawrence County has many miles of improved roads as well as food 
dirt roads. The highways are not used much for the transportation of 
coal, : 


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The northern part of Lawrence County shows plainly the effect of 
glacial action. The surface is rolling; there are no hills or knobs 
with steep slopes; there are no deeply intrenched streams, and the 
valleys and flats are covered with many fect of glacial drift. The 
southern part of the county, below the terminal morraine, is 
decidedly hilly. The streams have deeply intrenched themsclves in 
valleys with stcep slopes, having massive sandstone outcrops. Steep 
hills are numerous, Three terraces are well developed along the 
larger drainage basins. 


The rocks in the county lie nearly flat; locally they dip 
gently northward, 


COAL BEDS. 


Sharon Coal; The Sharon coal, which has been an important bed 
in Mercer County, is very thin in Lawrence County, and is rarely 
mMineable. The coal is dirty and has none of the characteristics it 
displays a few miles to the north. 


Quakertown Coal. This bed is thin, averaging less than le 
inches but is persistent. At a few points it is mineable, In the 
vicinity of Quakertown Run the coal has a maximum thickness of 3 feet 
and has been mined for domestic fuel. The coal tends to be of the 
blocky variety; it is high in ash, sulphur and volatile matter. The 
fixed carbon is low, 


Lower Mercor Coat. This bed is thin and is rarely minecable. 
It is very persistent, but is very shaly and pyritous. The coal is 
thickest, 3 fect, in the Neshannock Valley and in the vicinity of New 
Wilmineton, The average is much less. In places a few inches at the 
bottom is canncloid coal, 


Upper Mercer Coal. This coal is not of commercial importance ° 
in the county. Its horizon is marked by a few inches of clean coal, 
or many fect of coal so dirty that it cannot be mined profitably. 


4 thin and impure coal appears locally a few fect below the 
Homewood sandstone, It has becn mined for domestic use in the 
absence of better coal, 


Brookville ("A") Coal. This bed, lying directly upon, or a few 
fect above the Homewood sandstone , is rarely mineable and in places 
is éntirely absent. It has been mined in the northern part-of the 
county, where it is locally 3 feet 6 inches to 4 fect thick, with one 
bone or pyrite parting a few inches from the top. The coal is clean 
and of good quality, although its thickness does not warrant produc-~ 
tion in many places, 


Greco (PAI) Col. This bed is rarely mineable in the county. 
{It is locally 18 inches thick, but averages about 6 inches. 


Kittanning Coals. The correlation of the Kittanning group of 
coals in lawrence County is uncertain. Two of these coals are very 
thin and unimportant. A third, locally known as the Darlington coal, 


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is probably the Midéle or Upper Kittanning. It is the most important 
bed in the county. 


The Darlineton coal ranges from 2 fect 6 inches to 4 feet thick, 
One charactcristic thin band of bone is always presont in some part 
of the bed. The bed varies much in quality in different parts of the 
county, Along Big Beaver Valley the coal is excellent, especially in 
the vicinity of New Castle and Wampum,‘and is highly valued as a gas 
coal, It is also a good smithing coal, the ash and sulphur being 
low, In the Slippery Rock Valley the coal is the same thickness, but 
the sulphur content increascs, so that it cannot be used as a smithing 
coal, although the ash is low. In the southwestern part of Plain 
Grove tovmship the-cdal is over 4 fect thick, half of which is a 
genuine block coal, resombling very much the Sharon blo¢k coal of 
Mercer County. 


There are largo arcas of the Darlington coal in the county, but 
with the cxecption of the localitics named, it is thin and dirty. 
However, it is used extcnsively as domestic fuel in many places 


Lower Frecport ("D")-Coal, This coal, lying about 70 fect 
above the Darlington coal, is persistent in the county, but is very 


jonticular and variable in quality. The coal is less than 2 fect 
thick, and is vory dirty and high in sulphur. Locally, as in Perry 
township, the bod is over 5 fcet thick, but is very dirty. In Little 
Beaver township it has a local thickness of 6 fect and is excclient. 


Upper Ereoport {"E") Coal. This coal lies from 130 to 140 feet 
above the Darlineton’coal, The principal outcrops are in Perry and 
Big Beaver townships, where it reaches a local maximum thickness of 6 
fect. The average thickness is less than 2 feet. The coal is dirty, 
high in sulphur and ash, friable, and breaks up when mined, It is 
used only for domestic fucl, 


Brush Crock Coal. This bed, lying from 200 to 220 fect above 
the Darlington coadi, is geologically the highest coal in the county. 
Its outcrop is limitcd and only small isolated arcas in Perry and 
Wayne townships are thick cnough for profitable mining. Three fcet 
is the maximum thickness. The coal is of the "block" varicty, with 
low ash and sulphur. 


I. 


3 0112 077640685 


